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XENIA — The Greene County major fired by the sheriff last week has retained legal counsel.

Maj. Eric Spicer, who had been on administrative leave since a July 30, 2013 fatal shooting in Yellow Springs, was fired on Thursday, not long after an investigation into the shooting that led to the death of Paul E. Schenck Jr.

The officer who fired the fatal shots, James Hughes, was also on leave but was cleared of any unnecessary force by a Grand Jury and returned to work.

“Regrettably, I can not speak to specifics of the administrative personnel case and will have to hold that for the appropriate forum,” Spicer said in a release on Monday.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Investigation looked into the incident and concluded that the death was not avoidable. However the report did indicate that Spicer led law enforcement officials to the wrong home on North High Street and caused the resident there to call 911 when they attempted to enter the home.

Sheriff Gene Fischer last week declined to give a reason why Spicer was fired, saying he was an employee at will.

Spicer, who had been with the sheriff’s office since 2004, hopes to work in law enforcement again.

“I am proud of my record there having been a part of some of the largest, most complex cases and operations in the history of the office,” he said. “It is the good people who are capable of great things I served and worked with that I will miss most about the job. It is for that reason I look forward to serving in some capacity again.”

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